World Scene


March 6, 2008

CANADA

Harper orders probe of Obama leak

OTTAWA — The leak of information about Sen. Barack Obama's position on the North American Free Trade Agreement was "blatantly unfair" to his campaign, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday.

Mr. Harper said the government was mounting an "internal security investigation" to find out who leaked the information, which suggested Mr. Obama's campaign had said not to pay too much attention to his protectionist rhetoric on NAFTA.

"This kind of leaking of information is completely unacceptable and in fact ... it may well be illegal," the prime minister told Parliament.

Mr. Obama's rival in the Democratic primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, had seized on the Canadian information to try to demonstrate that Mr. Obama could not be trusted on foreign affairs and that he said one thing in private and another in public.

UZBEKISTAN

U.S. allowed use of air base

MOSCOW — Uzbekistan will allow U.S. nationals to use its Termez air base under strict conditions, officials said yesterday, almost three years after ordering out U.S. troops in a row over human rights.

Robert Simmons, NATO's envoy for the Caucasus and Central Asia, said Uzbekistan had agreed to allow limited numbers of U.S. staff to use the facility near Afghanistan, which was once used by Soviet forces and is currently operated by Germany.

The U.S. Embassy in Tashkent said that under the arrangement, U.S. staff would use Termez only as part of wider NATO operations in Afghanistan.

CHINA

Suspect killed in hostage drama

SHANGHAI — Police fatally shot a man armed with explosives who took 10 Australians hostage on a tourist bus yesterday in northern China, a state news agency reported.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said today that the hijacker's motives were not known.

China is normally a safe destination for tourists, but more problems have arisen recently, especially robberies of foreigners.

VATICAN CITY

Permanent dialogue with Muslims set

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican and Muslim leaders agreed yesterday to establish a permanent official dialogue to improve often difficult relations and heal wounds still open from a controversial papal speech in 2006.

A joint statement said the first meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum will take place on Nov. 4-6 in Rome with 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side. Pope Benedict XVI will address the group.

The announcement came after a two-day meeting at the Vatican with five representatives of Muslims who had signed an unprecedented appeal to the pope to begin a dialogue.

SERBIA

Lawmakers split on EU membership

BELGRADE — Nationalist and liberal lawmakers clashed yesterday over a resolution calling on Serbia to abandon its bid for European Union membership unless nations rescind their recognition of Kosovo.

Ultranationalists — supported by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's ruling conservatives — drafted a resolution calling on the EU to "clearly and unequivocally" say Kosovo remains part of Serbia before resuming any pre-membership talks with the bloc.

Pro-Western legislators, however, oppose pinning future EU membership on the Kosovo issue, a split analysts warned could bring the coalition government down.


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